Suggestions
First and foremost, PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO USE YOUR SUGGESTIONS IN THE MOD. We will shoot down the vast majority of the ideas put here, if for no other reason than the fact we don't have time to implement it all. This is not an unfair system; it's how designing is done. For every unit in a completed army list there are dozens that didn't make the cut, and this page is no different. Some ideas may make background incorporation, campaign units and props, and others might make the lists themselves for a future release. However, we are not your personal army. If you want to volunteer your designs to this page, you have to be willing to have that design placed under harsh scrutiny, be picked apart, cut up, possibly divided in multiple ideas or combined with another. This is how design works. Also of note is the large number of rules for this. This is for ease of consideration and reading. We should not do extra effort to make your suggestion work; that is your job. On the plus side, this also discourages stupid suggestions; no one is going to suggest a Mickey Mouse unit if they have to figure out what his secondary is (no, that's not a challenge.) On the same token, while immediately denying a suggestion that doesn't follow the rules may seem harsh, look at it from our perspective: someone couldn't be bothered to follow a few simple rules and is instead ordering we do what they want. That's not a courtesy to a fan, that's fulfilling a demand of an entitled person, which we didn't get into mod making to do. General Guidelines 1. Most important: Use spellcheck and proper grammar! 2. Keep your summaries short. Nobody wants to read 3 paragraphs of information about a protocol or a heroic upgrade. 3. In addition to that, we say again, GAMEPLAY FIRST! Also try to make suggestions fit thematically. If you, say, want one of the Minor Factions to have a rather special unit (earthquake generator for example), try to explain its details and abilities and how it fits into the faction. Lore is for later! 4. Serious suggestions only. We had a lot of dumb ones already, and they were not even read but deleted outright. Make a sensible suggestion which you actually envision to see in game. No memes, no celebrities and no Chuck Norris! 5. Remember the coding process. For example, new Multigunner Turrets are VERY hard to code, and remember, a Multigunner cannot have a secondary apart from Evacuate Unit. 6. If your original suggestion was already denied, it's unlikely to be accepted no matter how much revision you do, so please don't keep revising it unless it is in the "Revision" section. 7. Do NOT sign your suggestions. Part of the reason they allow suggestions is for the dark humour as they rip it apart, and it's less funny if they know who did it. 8. Please do not add a suggestion minutes before the podcast is to start, or during it. 9. Don't name the suggestion "Insert name here" or something because you can't think of a name. This makes referencing suggestions quite difficult. We can respect if you don't know about the lore or culture of the unit, but names are easily changed. Just make something up. 10. If a suggestion is accepted, feel proud of yourself! However,' please do not add the unit to the wiki immediately'; Team Paradox may drastically change it in lore or mechanics than what you suggested, and there's always a possibility that someone will think the suggestion was accepted, but Team Paradox only said maybe. 11. No April Fools suggestions! Unit Suggestions Format Copy and paste the form below into the correct page under Pending and fill it with information: Sample Unit Description: Weapon(s): Secondary: Niche it fills: Put a short description in. You should also show how the weapon works and what secondary ability the unit has with it. The balance can be handled by the developers if the idea is accepted. Units that are successful in the process will get their own unit pages. Rules Though intended for people making mods, Unit Conceptualisation is also a good guideline for suggestions, as well. Here are some extra things to consider! When designing a unit, generally think of the purpose before you think of how it looks and acts. Examples: * You might want to create a unit that's essentially a giant terror drone - while it would look cool to have this monster drone in the game, we've already got the REGULAR terror drone, making a giant version pretty pointless. * In the original Paradox unit development process, we looked at things like the Allies' lack of effective AA, which produced the Icarus. We didn't set out to make a truck that deploys into a gun - that's just how it ended up. * If you have an idea for a unit that seems cool, then feel free to suggest it, but if its role is already filled by a couple of units, it is unlikely to be accepted. * Try to avoid infantry if at all possible. Though not outright banned (hence why it's here instead of below), animating infantry is the reason Paradox has been delayed two months. Think about it before you suggest something that could be used as a vehicle. * For heroic upgrades, try to avoid heroic upgrades that increase speed, as this tends to make it harder for units to be used in large groups. Also, try to avoid heroic upgrades that have a negative effect. * If suggesting heroic upgrades for units that already have them, you have to specify whether it is either an additional or replacement heroic suggestion. No-gos I. Generally: * Any kind of unit that has been suggested or already is in the game will get the boot. * Any unit from real life or another CNC or RTS game in general without any changes will be denied, as doing so is redundant, lame and proof for a lack of imagination. Likewise, units from other settings will also be denied. * No Zombies or their like. In fact, every time someone suggests zombies, the Sparrow pilot cries. * No campaign-only or super units (Shogun Executioner as an example for both). II. Gameplay: * No Suggestions that propose something that has already been decided. This means Superweapons, commandoes, and assassination targets, among other things. * No suicide units like Bomb Trucks or even M.A.D. Tanks. Units that explode when killed are okay, however. * No infantry that can construct turrets. * No mobile airfields. * Allies - no "Red Alert 2" SEAL-styled infantry. * Confederates - no base razers, they already have two. * Talon - no Tiberian Sun Titan or Wolverine knock-offs. No heavy air or naval transports. * Atomic China - no helicopters, snipers or artillery. * Mediterranean Syndicate - no heavy hitters. * Electrical Protectorate - no heavy hitters. * International Inc - no infantry or aircraft. * Vietcong - no aircraft or tanks. * Black Hand - No mutants, Nod units, cyborgs, Nod Units, alien tech, Nod units, flamethrowers and NO NOD UNITS. They're NOT, repeat, NOT the Brotherhood of Nod. III. Aesthetics and Technology: * Shy away from units that use nuclear weapons. No suggested unit has done them in a realistic fashion, in either physics or Paradox lore. * No discrete energy projectiles that move at relatively slow speeds. In other words, no energy balls or bullets. Well, aside from Proton Colliders, but even those aren't actually energy balls in the lore. * Do not use organic features like tentacles for Protectorate units. The Protectorate are reminiscent of 50's robots, not the metallic squids so popular today. * No units with Ranger in their names. * No chainsaws. That's just too cheesy. * Nothing with bouncing bombs, whether a unit or a protocol. IV. Niches we want filled: Every once in a blue moon, we realise there is a hole in the lists that ought to be filled. When we do, we'll ask here as well as brainstorming ourselves, as a way of acquiring a broader number of options before we make a decision. If you have any ideas regarding these niches, post it in the appropriate section, and lets us know you are trying to fill it! * None right now. And last but by no means least: In case you didn't get the message, No Chuck Norris!. We want to give all those other commandos a chance in the battlefield. Also, Chuck Norris has an awesomeness that simply cannot be coded, no matter how many Japanese Robots and Syndicate Computers you may have. Another fact that needs to be considered is that Jesus could walk on water. But Chuck Norris can swim on land. Breaking any of those rules will result in an instant denial. Decisions Unit Suggestions will be decided during podcasts. A unit might be denied outright in case of any rule breaking, or obviously apparent denial. Pages Empire Order China Syndicate Protectorate Minor Factions Heroic Upgrades Closed Allies Soviets Confederates Protocol Suggestions Format Copy and paste the form below into the correct page under Pending, and under the previous suggestions, and fill it with information: Structure Protocol is Activated From: Protocol Name: Protocol Effect Guidelines 1. Don't suggest upgrades. 2. Do not try to assert how difficult it is to code unless you have hard proof, or have coded it yourself. 3. Do not suggest kill powers. 4. Do not suggest buff or debuff powers. Anyone can suggest that. 5. Do not suggest protocols that makes units, unless it's very clever. A good lore reason doesn't cut it. 6. Do not suggest anything that someone would have no reason to not use constantly. 7. Do not suggest protocols that do what units in game already do. 8. Please don't include quotes on protocols, they don't need them. Faction Specific Guidelines *Allies *Confederates Revolutionaries *Soviet *Empire *Order of the Talon :1. No mines :2. If making an upgradable protocol, make sure it has four levels. *Atomic Kingdom of China *Mediterranean Syndicate :1. The Syndicate are the only faction who have protocols they need to pay for *Electrical Protectorate :1. No rust destroying/creating/manipulating/related protocols. Decisions Protocols will be decided during podcasts. A protocol might be denied outright at the discretion of R3ven, who is in charge of Protocols, for any reason he feels necessary. Pages Empire Protocol Suggestions Order Protocol Suggestions Chinese Protocol Suggestions Syndicate Protocol Suggestions Protectorate Protocol Suggestions Minor Factions Protocol Suggestions Closed Allied Protocol Suggestions Confederate Protocol Suggestions Soviet Protocol Suggestions Map Suggestions Format Please use the template for suggesting maps: Name (no. of players) Tileset: Location: Shape: Size: Water: Ore Nodes: Tech Buildings: Minor Faction Buildings: Description: Other Notes: Decisions Due to the complexity of balance, map suggestions will be decided by the Paradox team over the course of a long discussion. Suggestions may be denied outright at the discretion of the mapping team, for any reason they feel necessary. Pages Map Suggestions Co-Commander Suggestions Currently, this is just an informal page of suggestions, but it may be organised later (be rude of me to force it on them!) Paradox Co-Commander Suggestions Confederate Global Upgrades No-gos These are for visual effects only. The stats have already been decided and are the same for all units, therefore the label "global". Do NOT suggest gameplay effects; just additions to the model. Format Please use this template when suggesting Global Upgrade effects: Name of Unit Name of Upgrade: Short description of visual effect. Pages Confederate Global Upgrades Suggestions Other Any other suggestions relating to Paradox you have go here. Formatting and how the team will respond varies. Other